from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- A few sources pushed back hard against the idea of Florida trading Jonathan Huberdeau, but a couple warned that the Panthers — looking to free themselves from future obligations — are investigating a lot of things that may or may not come to fruition. The more space Florida clears, the closer we get to Columbus mining for phone bills.

- I’m wondering if Los Angeles makes a play for Panarin. The Kings aren’t interested in a lengthy rebuild, and southern California is believed to be high on the winger’s list of priorities. They could wait until June, but the benefit of getting him now is the eighth year. Los Angeles has two first-rounders (their own and Toronto’s from the Jake Muzzin trade), and have asked a high price for Tyler Toffoli — but that seems an enticing package. Columbus was in on Ilya Kovalchuk, but he has control over where he goes and the Blue Jackets might not want him for two more seasons. Such a move would certainly breathe new life into L.A.

- With Ken Hitchcock watching practice from the seats one day and then blasting the Oilers’ effort following Saturday’s 5–2 loss to San Jose, that there were rumours he’d had enough and would step down. That obviously didn’t happen, but it underlines how tense things are in Edmonton.

Giving Cam Talbot three straight starts made it look like he was being showcased to clear cap room, but the Oilers are having difficulty opening space for Andrej Sekera when he is ready to go.

- When Edmonton gets down to GM interviews, the favourites are Kelly McCrimmon and Mark Hunter. But, there are expected to be other conversations. Interim GM Keith Gretzky has history with current Bruins executive director of player personnel John Ferguson, so it would not be a surprise to see him involved.

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